Green Party MP Mojo Mathers stands outside the New Zealand Parliament buildings after introducing a new SOP to ban cosmetics animal testing in the Animal Welfare Act. NZAVS

Animal advocates from the #BeCrueltyFree New Zealand campaign have joined Green Party MP Mojo Mathers in celebrating a renewed effort to see cosmetics animal testing banned in New Zealand. Mathers and #BeCrueltyFree worked together to draft a new Supplementary Order Paper (SOP 044) to amend the Animal Welfare Act which was launched today.

Mathers introduced an original SOP to ban cosmetics animal testing in the Animal Welfare Act last March, however the select committee did not include the ban in its recommendations to Parliament despite overwhelming public support and backing from New Zealand’s cosmetics industry. #BeCrueltyFree and Mathers believe the new SOP provides a workable solution that addresses government feedback and delivers a ban on cosmetics cruelty that Kiwis want.

Stephen Manson for #BeCrueltyFree New Zealand, said: “Testing cosmetics on animals has had its day - it’s unethical, poor-quality science and it brings shame on the beauty industry. So we need everybody to get behind Mojo and the #BeCrueltyFree campaign to see cosmetics cruelty banned through an amended Animal Welfare Act. The United Kingdom ended cosmetics animal testing nearly 20 years ago, and it’s now banned in more than 30 countries worldwide, including the European Union and India, so this is New Zealand’s chance to hop to it and join the global shift towards beauty without cruelty.”

#BeCrueltyFree’s goals have strong public support in New Zealand, where opinion polls show that 89.2 percent of Kiwis want a cosmetics animal testing ban. In addition to Green Party support, the Labour Party also announced in August its backing for a dual cosmetics animal testing and sales ban, and so far nearly 100,000 people have signed #BeCrueltyFree New Zealand petitions and e-cards to urge the government to act. Celebrities have also brought their star power to the cause, including The Almighty Johnsons actress Michelle Langstone, Shortland Street actor Sam Bunkall, singer Anna Coddington, netball champion Irene van Dyke, and legendary Queen guitarist Brian May, who joined the campaign during his Vector Arena gig in September.

In animal tests, rabbits, guinea pigs and other animals endure considerable suffering. They can have cosmetic chemicals dripped in their eyes, spread on their skin, or force fed to them in sometimes lethal doses. If successful, the SOP would ban cosmetics animal testing in New Zealand’s own labs, and campaigners hope it will pave the way for a stage two ban on the sale of cosmetics newly tested on animals abroad. Kiwis can take action here to show politicians they support a test ban.

#BeCrueltyFree New Zealand is headed by Humane Society International, the New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society and Helping You Help Animals (HUHA), and is part of the world’s largest campaign to end cosmetics animal testing. #BeCrueltyFree campaigns are driving change across Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Russia, Taiwan and the United States.

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